The invention pertains to tools with a hard coating. More specifically, the invention pertains to tools (e.g., round tools and cutting inserts) with a hard coating which includes a compound containing aluminum and nitrogen and a compound containing boron and nitrogen.
As materials technology advances many new materials, including new hard materials, become commercially useful. Such new hard materials include without limitation sintered ultra-fine powdered metals, metal-matrix composites, heat treated hardened steels (hardnesses of between 50 to 65 Rockwell C), and high temperature alloys. These new materials have extraordinary combinations of properties, such as, for example, hardness, toughness and wear resistance, that make them very suitable for uses in heavy industries, aerospace, transportation, and consumer products.
For these new hard materials to realize their optimum commercial potential, one must overcome the challenges these materials present to existing manufacturing and finishing processes. One of the reasons these challenges exist is that these materials are very difficult and expensive to drill, cut, form, and otherwise perform work on as workpiece materials. One can best address these challenges by the use of strong tools such as, for example, round tools (which include without limitation drills, end mills, reamers), as well as cutting inserts, that use a hard coating. This invention pertains to just such strong tools with a hard coating.
In one form thereof, the invention is a tool comprising a substrate which has a first surface and a second surface wherein the first surface and the second surface intersect to form an edge. There is an adhesion coating scheme on the substrate wherein the adhesion coating scheme comprises an innermost layer including titanium on the surface of the substrate and an outermost adhesion layer. There is a wear coating scheme on the adhesion coating scheme wherein the wear coating scheme includes one or more wear coating sequences wherein each wear coating sequence comprises an inner layer including aluminum and nitrogen and an outer layer including boron and nitrogen.
In another form thereof, the invention is a tool comprising a substrate which has a first surface and a second surface wherein the first surface and the second surface intersect to form an edge. There is an innermost layer containing titanium on the surface of the substrate. There is a wear coating scheme on the innermost layer wherein the wear coating scheme includes one or more wear coating sequences. Each wear coating sequence comprises an inner layer including aluminum and nitrogen and an outer layer including boron and nitrogen wherein the outer layer is on the inner layer.
In still another form, the invention is a process of making a coated tool comprising the steps of: providing a substrate; applying an adhesion coating scheme to the substrate wherein the adhesion coating scheme comprising an innermost layer containing titanium being on the surface of the substrate and an outermost adhesion layer; and applying a wear coating scheme on the adhesion coating scheme wherein the wear coating scheme including one or more wear coating sequences wherein each wear coating sequence comprises an inner layer including aluminum and nitrogen and an outer layer including boron and nitrogen.
In another form thereof, the invention is a process of making a coated tool comprising the steps of: providing a substrate having a first surface and a second surface, the first surface and the second surface intersect to form an edge; applying an innermost layer containing titanium on the surface of the substrate; and applying a wear coating scheme on the innermost layer wherein the wear coating scheme includes one or more wear coating sequences with each wear coating sequence comprising an inner layer including aluminum and nitrogen and an outer layer including boron and nitrogen on the inner layer.